


Alex Is The Winner & A Cacophony of Not-Quite-Quacks

by Biscuit Lion (cookiethelion)



Category: Taskmaster (TV)
Genre: Gen, Interactive, Mild Language, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-18 02:54:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13090920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookiethelion/pseuds/Biscuit%20Lion
Summary: Escape from this room.Alex will be monitoring your progress. You may not ask Alex for hints, and you may not ask Alex to enter the room.Fastest wins. Your time starts now.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paranoidangel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paranoidangel/gifts).



**Link to the game:**  
[Windows](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R3bdB4WHxm3U5kyX06hE_GAi83uVWrvE) | [Mac](https://drive.google.com/open?id=17m1bJEXDFaQRq0Cd1jLOvlScZv12fyEl)

 **Approx. playing time:** 20 minutes in total. (You can save the game at any time by right clicking, and a menu will appear.)

It is advised you make notes throughout the game. 

Nothing says Christmas like a treat that requires a manual to go with it. Each game has two types of walkthrough to go with it: a straightforward walkthrough that is designed to take you through the rooms in the fewest steps; and a "hints" walkthrough that is a little more detailed and designed to give you a little nudge in the right direction without giving too many spoilers away. Note: if you are playing for the first time, the game will automatically start with Alex Is The Winner.

If any problems occur, please leave a comment. I hope you enjoy the game!


	2. Alex Is The Winner: STRAIGHTFORWARD walkthrough

**For the HINTS walkthrough, go to chapter 3.**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1\. Go to the white wall, and turn the hourglasses over.  
2\. Lift up the pineapple lid.  
3\. Look under the rug.  
4\. Look up at the ceiling to find the stars.  
5\. Go to the green wall.  
6\. Press the light switch.  
7\. Return to the green wall.  
8\. Using the code, open the large chest and take the contents.  
9\. Use the screwdriver to unscrew the pictures of Josh and Alex.  
10\. Go to the yellow wall, and unscrew the corkboard.  
11\. Go to the table, and use the UV pen on Alex’s photo.  
12\. Go to the yellow wall, and turn the corkboard over.  
13\. Talk to Nish. Give him the glove.  
14\. Ask for a key.  
15\. Go to the green wall, and open the padlocked chest.  
16\. Unlock the combination locked chest with the code from the corkboard.  
17\. Go to the white wall. Look at the purple chest, and enter the code found on the back of Alex’s photo.  
18\. Put the beard on the mannequin head.  
19\. Go to the green wall, and check the box.  
20\. Talk to Nish again, and ask him to pop the balloon.  
21\. (If you didn’t check the rug before, you will need to go back to the yellow wall, and look up at the fairy lights)  
22\. Go to the white wall, and open the coconut.  
23\. Go the table, and take another look at the photos.  
24\. Go to the yellow wall, talk to Nish, and give him the code 9825 from the hourglasses.  
25\. Go to the table, and look at the photos from Nish.  
26\. Look at the red coconut.  
27\. The order is Noel, Katherine, question mark.  
28\. Put the exit code together.  
29\. The correct order is 1865290.  
30\. Go to the red wall, and enter the escape code.


	3. Alex Is The Winner: HINTS walkthrough

**For the STRAIGHTFORWARD walkthrough, go to chapter 2.**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tools & Misc. Items  
**Screwdriver**

Go to the white wall, and open the pineapple lid.  
Note: make sure you have unscrewed everything you need to in the room before you talk to Nish, as you will exchange the screwdriver for the UV light pen. You can ask Nish for the screwdriver back at any point during the game, but it will slow down your progress.

**Torch**  
Go to the white wall, and open the pineapple lid.

 **UV light pen**  
Take the corkboard down, and Nish will trade this for your screwdriver.

 **Glove**  
See the chests section of this walkthrough.

 **Beard**  
Before you do this step:  
Unscrew the corkboard.  
Find the glove.  
How to get the beard:  
Go the yellow wall, and talk to Nish. Give him the glove, and he will exchange it for the beard.

 **Rug**  
If you look under the rug, you will find a picture of a remote inside a box. This is not a compulsory step, but it will save you time later on in the room.

 **Remote**  
Before you do this step:  
Open the purple chest.  
To save time, it is recommended you check the rug before you open the purple chest. If you’ve already opened the chest, you can still check the rug before you talk to Nish again.  
To get the remote:  
Get the purple chest open. You’ll get a balloon that’s been blown up a little, and there’s something rattling inside.  
If you checked the rug before this point, you’ll recognise the inside of the box, and you’ll definitely know that this is for the fairy lights on the yellow wall.  
Go to the yellow wall, and talk to Nish. Ask him to pop the balloon for you. He’ll confirm that there is a remote inside the balloon.  
If you already found the picture, you will see the code at this point. If not, you’ll need to return to the yellow wall, and then look up at the fairy lights.

Chests  
White Wall  
**Purple chest**  
Before you do this step:  
Get the UV light pen.  
Take Josh and Alex’s photos off the green wall.  
Unlock the padlocked chest on the green wall.  
How to unlock the purple chest:  
The remote from the padlocked chest moved something on the white wall. It turns out the picture of Greg had been covering up a niche, and there’s a purple chest on the middle shelf.  
Let’s go to the table. You’ve got a UV light pen which Nish says doesn’t work with anything in his room. What if it was meant to be for you, and there’s an invisible code somewhere?  
Remember that photo of Alex? There was something written on the back of Josh’s one, but not Alex’s…  
Use the UV light pen on Alex’s photo. There’s a code on there after all, and it looks like it’s been written in purple. A purple code for a purple chest?  
Go to the white wall, and use the code on the chest.

Green Wall  
**Large chest**  
Finding the code:  
Look up at the ceiling, where there seems to be four stars stuck on. The light’s too bright for you to see anything clearly though. Note that you don’t necessarily have to do this step, but it will mean that you can get out of the room faster.  
Go to the green wall, and press the light switch. If you didn’t look up at the ceiling before this, it will take you a little longer before you find the stars. There are four different sized stars, so if we go from smallest to largest, the code has to be 6105.  
Opening the chest:  
Return to the green wall, and open the chest—but wait, there’s a piece of paper on top that says “Largest to Smallest”. 6105 won’t open the chest, but 5016 will.  
Pick up the glove. There’s a smaller box at the bottom, but there’s nothing you can do to open it for now. Let’s return to this later.

 **Box inside the large chest**  
Before you do this step:  
Open the large chest.  
Get the beard.  
Slide the picture of Greg upwards.  
How to open the box:  
Go to the white wall, and look at the mannequin head. Put the beard on the head, and you will hear something move from the green wall.  
Go to the green wall, and check the box. There’s only a duck-shaped uninflated swim ring inside, so of course this has to be something for Nish rather than yourself.  
Note: if you don’t complete this step, Nish will stop you from leaving the room once you’ve opened the exit, and your time will jump up.

 **Padlocked chest**  
Before you do this step:  
Unscrew the corkboard.  
How to open the chest:  
This is the only chest that needs a key. Perhaps the rubber duck next to it is a hint.  
Who’s trying to escape a room full of rubber ducks?  
Go to the yellow wall to talk to Nish, and ask him for a key. He will hand over a key attached to a rubber duck.  
Go to the green wall, and use that key on this chest. You’ll pick up a remote, which will move something on the white wall.

 **Combination locked chest**  
Before you do this step:  
Unscrew the corkboard.  
How to open the chest:  
Which code will open this chest? Perhaps the rubber duck next to it is a hint.  
Who’s trying to escape a room full of rubber ducks?  
Go to the yellow wall. You can’t ask Nish for a code, but do you remember what you took down first before you realised you’re in the middle of a team task?  
Have you tried turning over the corkboard?  
Nish will tell you that he hasn’t found a use for the bottom code yet. What if the code was meant for you?  
Go back to the green wall, and enter the corkboard code. There’s a picture of Rob inside, but the main thing to note is that there are numbers on the back.

Exit Code  
**Hourglasses**  
Go to the white wall, and turn the hourglasses over. They’re going to take a while to finish running, so you might as well set them off nice and early, and then come back later to see if they’re hiding anything.  
Surprise, surprise, there _is_ something hidden in both of them. The one on the left is: L III I, or 5031. The right hourglass also shows another code: IX VIII II V, or 9825.

 **Coconut statue**  
Before you do this step:  
Get the remote for the fairy lights, and find the hidden code.  
How to unlock:  
Find the code from the fairy lights. See the remote section of this walkthrough.  
Go to the white wall, and use the code to open the coconut statue. There is a red coconut at the bottom of the pile, with the letters R IV II V. It looks like another set of Roman numerals, but R was never used to represent a number. Hmmm…

 **Photos**  
There are three stages to gathering the photos.  You can do the first one on your own, but you will need Nish for the other two stages.  
**Stage #1**  
Before you do this step:  
Find the screwdriver.  
To get out in the fastest time, DO NOT unscrew the corkboard just yet. You can ask for the screwdriver back later, but it will take up more time.  
How to get the photos:  
Go to the green wall, and unscrew the photos of Josh and Alex.  
There’re two numbers printed on the back of Josh’s photo—a 3 and a 6. You can’t get Alex’s photo out of the frame, though, and there doesn’t appear to be anything on the back. There’s not much more you can do with them at the moment though.  
**Stage #2**  
See the chests section of this walkthrough.  
**Stage #3**  
Before you do this step:  
Turn the hourglasses over, and find the hidden codes.  
Unscrew the corkboard.  
It may help if you:  
• Get the photos from stages 1 and 2 first.  
• Find the red coconut first.  
How to get the photos:  
Remember the codes from the hourglasses? You will need to give one to Nish. You have a choice between L III I or IX VIII II V.  
You don’t have to do this step now, but this might help. Go to the table, and take another look at the photos. Notice how the 3s on Rob and Josh’s photos connect to form an 8, and that it looks like they form a longer code? Also, do you remember that they won series 3 and 1, respectively?  
If you’ve got the red coconut as well, you may be able to work out which one to hand over. Let’s break this down. On the red coconut, you have R IV II V. Since the R isn’t a Roman numeral, we can ignore it for now, so the main bit of information is IV II V, or 425.  
On one hourglass, you have L III I, or 5031. Let’s ignore the L part for now; does the 31 combination look familiar? You’ve already found the photos of Rob and Josh, the champions of series 3 and 1…  
And if you pair it up with the coconut, then you get 31425…  
And you’re filming a task for series 5 of Taskmaster…  
Therefore, the code you need to give Nish is 9825.  
Go to the yellow wall to talk to Nish, and give him the code 9825. He will then hand over three photos he found in his room—and guess what? They’re pictures of Katherine, Noel, and a question mark.

 **Putting the exit code together**  
Before you do this step:  
Complete all the above stages  
How to get the exit code:  
You now have three more photos in your inventory, so let’s go to the table and check out the stack that Nish just gave you. They all have numbers written on their backs.  
If you haven’t already completed this step, let’s take another look at the photos. Something’s bugging you about Rob’s photo—in particular, the backwards 3. If you pair him up with Josh, the two 3s form an 8, and it looks like you’ve got a longer code on your hands.  
That leaves Katherine, Noel, and the question mark. Look at the red coconut; the hint about which order to put the photos in is on there.  
The code is IV II V, or 425, so the correct order is Noel, Katherine, and the question mark. There’s just one more step left; now that you have two halves, it’s time to put the exit code together.  
Which way round should it go? There was an L on the hourglass and a R on the coconut which we have haven’t found a use for yet … what if the L was never a Roman numeral but an initial for something?  
L for left, R for right?  
Yes, it works! Now that you have your final code, let’s get out of here!


	4. A Cacophony of Not-Quite-Quacks: STRAIGHTFORWARD walkthrough

**For the HINTS walkthrough, go to chapter 5.**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1\. Look under the table.  
2\. Go to the curtain wall, and pull back the curtain.  
3\. Look at the top shelf.  
4\. Look at the bottom shelf, and use 6914.  
5\. Unscrew the photos.  
6\. Go to the entrance wall, and take a closer look at the bookcase.  
7\. Go to the crate wall. Open the mahogany box using the code from the bookcase.  
8\. Search through the crate.  
9\. Open the box.  
10\. Go to the entrance wall, and check the top bookcase shelf.  
11\. Check the shelves again, and open the metal box.  
12\. Check the middle shelf.  
13\. Check the bottom shelf.  
14\. Check the second shelf, and open both boxes.  
15\. Check the fourth shelf, and open both boxes.  
16\. Go to the exit wall, and look at the top shelf.  
17\. Look at the bottom shelf. Use the silver key.  
18\. Inspect the middle shelf. Ask Mark for a code.  
19\. The correct code is 9825.  
20\. Give Mark the bronze key.  
21\. Give Mark the beard.  
22\. Return to the curtain wall, and look at the mannequin hand.  
23\. Check the duck.  
24\. Select either OPEN or NUMBER; gameplay will not be affected by whichever one you pick.  
25\. Inspect the crate wall, and look at the niche.  
26\. Go to the entrance wall, and open the lower drawers with the gold key.  
27\. Go to the table, and check the task sheet.  
28\. Blow up the swim ring.  
29\. Work out the escape code.  
30\. Go to the exit wall, and enter the escape code.


	5. A Cacophony of Not-Quite-Quacks: HINTS walkthrough

**For the STRAIGHTFORWARD walkthrough, go to chapter 4.**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tools & Misc. Items  
**UV light pen**  
You’ll find this by looking under the table.

**Screwdriver**  
Wait for Mark to unscrew the corkboard first. If you have the UV light pen with you, then you will trade it for the screwdriver.  
If not, you can always talk to Mark later to ask him for a screwdriver.

**Balloon pump**  
Go to the exit wall, and look at the top shelf for the balloon pump.

**Beard**  
Go to the crate wall, and search through the duck crate.

**Glove**  
Before you do this step:  
Open the blue box on the curtain wall.  
Get the beard.  
How to get the glove:  
Go to the curtain wall, and talk to Mark. Trade the beard with him for the glove.

 **Photos of Katherine and Noel**  
Before you do this step:  
Get the screwdriver.  
How to get the photos:  
Go to the curtain wall, and unscrew the photos.

 **Duck keys**  
**Gold:**  
Unlock the phone.  
Go to the crate wall, and look at the niche.  
**Silver:**  
Before you do this step:  
Get the screwdriver.  
How to get the silver key:  
Go to the entrance wall, and look at the shelves. On the top shelf is a metal box.  
Use the screwdriver to unscrew the lid. The silver key is inside.  
**Bronze:**  
Go to the entrance wall, and check the bookcase shelves. The key is on the third shelf.

Chests  
Exit Wall  
**Middle shelf**  
Before you do this step:  
Unlock the blue box on the bottom shelf of the curtain wall.  
How to unlock the box:  
There’s a combination lock protecting the box, but the numbers are all in Roman numerals. There’s nothing in your room that is written in Roman numerals…  
But can you remember where you previously found Roman numerals from?  
Go to the exit wall, and inspect the middle shelf. In the list of options, ask Mark if he has a code, and use 9825 to unlock the box.  
There’s a photo inside the box. If you had already taken down Katherine and Noel’s photos, you will automatically hand over the stack to Mark. If you haven’t, you will need to talk to him later about it.

**Bottom shelf**  
This one is fastened with a silver padlock, so use the silver key.

Entrance Wall  
**The bookcase shelves**  
**Metal box**  
Before you do this step:  
Get the screwdriver.  
To find the metal box:  
Look at the top shelf. Check the shelves again, and unscrew the brackets holding the box together.

 **Second shelf**  
Before you do this step:  
Open the mahogany box.  
How to unlock both boxes:  
There are two boxes in this shelf, and they both take a 3 digit code. Take note that one box is shaped like a pentagon, and the other is a normal square.  
Remember the piece of paper that was inside the mahogany box? There was a list of four codes, and it seemed to suggest that the codes would be needed for the second and fourth shelves. The problem is that all the codes are 4 digits, but why are the first numbers of each code written in brown?  
The boxes are made from wood.  
A square has 4 sides, and a pentagon has 5.  
The boxes in the fourth shelf are a triangle and hexagon.  
The first numbers of each code are 3456.  
The first number is telling you how many sides the box has, so the second code is for the square box, and the last code is for the hexagonal box.

**Fourth shelf**  
See second shelf above. The only difference is the shape of the boxes.  
Enter the first code for the triangular box, and the third code for the pentagonal box.

**Lower drawers**  
The drawers are shut with a golden padlock.  
Use the gold key to unlock the drawers.

Curtain Wall  
**Bottom shelf**  
Go to the curtain wall, and pull back the curtain. There are two codes on the corkboard. The top one is written in blue ink, and the bottom one in black.  
Look at the bottom shelf. The main thing to note here is that the box is blue.  
Use the top code to open the chest.

Crate Wall  
**Mahogany box**  
Go to the entrance wall, and take a closer look at the bookcase to find that the mahogany panels form a code.  
Go to the crate wall, and open the mahogany box using the code from the bookcase. There’s a note inside, and it seems to be a clue for the bookcase.

**LCR box**  
Before you do this step:  
Look at the top shelf on the curtain wall.  
How to find and open the box:  
Search through the duck crate first. You’ll find the box hidden underneath all the ducks.  
There are three buttons to press; L, C, and R. Did you remember to take a look on the top shelf of the curtain wall?  
The eight ducks were all facing different directions; left, center, and right.  
Open the box, and you’ll find a visual pun inside.

Exit Code  
For the exit, you will need to gather a lot of ducks. First things first, let’s see what the escape code is…

 **Escape code**  
Before you do this step:  
Get the balloon pump.  
Get the uninflated duck swim ring.  
How to find the escape code:  
Go to your table, and blow up the swim ring. You need the balloon pump, otherwise Nish will not be able to inflate the swim ring.  
You’ll find symbols on the side of the duck.

**Locations for the symbols**

  * Jigsaw 
    * Have you opened all the boxes on the second and fourth shelves of the bookcase?
    * There are 4 pieces in total.
  * Flowers 
    * Have you checked the top shelf of the curtain wall?
    * See the hints for the phone below.
  * Shades 
    * Look through the duck crate.
  * Phone 
    * You will need to find a beard for this. Have you searched through the duck crate yet?
    * When you have the beard, go to the curtain wall to give the beard to Mark. He’ll give you a glove in return.
    * Staying at the curtain wall, look at the colourful ducks on the top shelf if you haven’t already done so.
    * Put the glove on the mannequin hand. You’ll hear water running behind you.
    * Remember the drain that runs out of the entrance wall? It’s full of water now, and oh look, another duck has appeared. What’s that behind its back though? There’s a phone.
    * When you’ve got the swim ring from Mark, you’ll turn your attention to the phone again. You need a colour code to unlock it, and it looks rather similar to the ducks on the top shelf.
    * Now that you’re in the phone, you have a choice. It doesn’t matter what you decide to press first; the main thing is that the number 3 will appear on the screen.
  * Stripes 
    * Look through the duck crate.
    * Unlock the lower drawers of the bookcase. See the chests section of this walkthrough.
  * Seals 
    * Go to the entrance wall, and check the bookcase shelves. You want to check the bottom shelf, where there is a box full of seals. Only 3 of the seals have ducks on.
    * Open the LCR box hidden inside the duck crate for 1 seal. See the chests section of this walkthrough.
    * There are two seals hidden in the niche.
    * Open the padlocked chest by the exit wall for one seal. See the chests section of this walkthrough.
    * For the final seal, go to the table. What was the very first thing you did when you entered the room? What are the seals used for?
    * Check the task sheet again.
  * Trees 
    * There was nothing green when you entered the room, so the trees have to be hidden away somewhere.
    * Check the niche.



Now that you’ve got everything, let’s hurry to the exit. The code works—and you’re out! Hurray!


End file.
